Scolopendra viridis
Florida Blueleg Centipede: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A small native Scolopendra with blue-washed legs, kept spicy despite its size: fast, strong, a genuinely painful bite, and skilled at finding gaps. Deep diggable substrate, a locking lid, and tongs only.
Group: CentipedesDifficulty: Spice 4: AdvancedSetup: Semi-arid terrestrial, deep diggable burrowHandling: No handling, tongs and lidded cup only
Use This Guide Safely
- Confirm the exact animal. Match this guide to the species, locality, size, and life stage on your label. If the ID is uncertain, use the more conservative part of the range and ask before changing the setup.
- Change one thing at a time. Treat temperature and humidity as target zones, then watch posture, burrowing, drinking, feeding, and molt behavior before making another adjustment.
- Respect the handling boundary. If the guide says no handling, fast, defensive, or medically significant, plan transfers with catch cups, locked lids, and no bare hands. For serious bites, stings, or symptoms, seek emergency medical care.
Quick Snapshot
| Temperature | 72-82°F, tolerates a night drop |
|---|---|
| Humidity | 50-65%: damp-to-dry gradient, water dish, vent low |
| Setup Type | Semi-arid terrestrial, deep diggable burrow |
| Substrate | 3-5 in packed diggable coco/topsoil, bark cover |
| Feeding | One appropriately sized prey item every 5-10 days |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 4: Advanced |
| Handling | No handling, tongs and lidded cup only |
Humidity zones: Very Low under 30% - Low 30-60% - Low-Moderate 40-70% - Moderate 60-80% - Moderate-High 70-85% - High 80%+ - Very High 90%+
Enclosure Format / Size Class
- Pedeling: small secure enclosure, packed substrate, moisture gradient, prey scaled down, lid seal checked often.
- Adult: terrestrial setup, 3-5 in packed substrate, bark cover, water dish, positively locking lid.
Warnings First
- Escape is the top risk. It flattens through gaps that look too small. Lock the lid and check the seal every time.
- The bite is genuinely painful, with local swelling. Mild venom, but no reason to test it.
- No handling, ever, at any size. Transfers only, with long tongs and a lidded catch cup.
- Fast, and climbs better than it looks like it should. Don't trust a smooth-walled enclosure alone.
- Keep the enclosure out of reach of kids and pets, no matter how secure the lid is.
Simple Care
- Hold 72-82°F. No supplemental heat needed in a normally heated room.
- Pack 3-5 in of firm, diggable substrate. It lives underground.
- Run a moisture gradient, damp at one end, dry at the other. Let it choose.
- Add bark or flat cork cover, plus a shallow, full water dish.
- Use a locking lid. Not a resting lid, not a taped lid.
- Feed with long tongs every 5-10 days, and pull uneaten prey within 24 hours.
- Locate the animal before opening the enclosure, every time.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Lid security is the single most important design decision here. It outranks every aesthetic choice.
- Pack substrate firm, not loose, so tunnels hold their shape. Loose substrate keeps it surface-active and raises escape risk.
- The moisture gradient replaces a humidity target. The animal self-selects better than a gauge reading can guide you.
- Too wet causes mold and mites. Too dry causes a failed molt. The gradient lets it find the middle.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Feed with long tongs, offered at the burrow entrance or dropped and withdrawn at once. A fast, indiscriminate feeding response.
- Sealing in and refusing food is normal premolt behavior. Pull all live prey then, a molting centipede can't defend itself.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Southeastern United States, principally Florida and the Gulf coastal plain, extending into parts of the Caribbean and Central America.
- Habitat translation: Southeastern US leaf litter and sandy soil become a terrestrial setup: 3-5 in of packed diggable substrate, a damp-to-dry gradient, bark cover, a shallow water dish, and a locking lid.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Color is variable across the range. The blue leg wash that gives the trade name isn't present on every individual.
- Small size does not mean reduced risk. The Spice 4 rating reflects escape potential and bite severity, not body length.